visit our store for great team products Major League Baseball MLB 1999 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees January 5, 1999 Ryan, Brett and Yount voted into Baseball Hall of Fame COOPERSTOWN, New York (Ticker) Nolan Ryan, George Brett and Robin Yount today were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as the Class of 1999 proved to be every bit as impressive as the star-studded ballot. Ryan, the all-time strikeout king, and Brett and Yount, members of the exclusive 3,000-hit club, became the first trio of first-year candidates to be elected since the five-member inaugural class of 1936, which featured Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb. It marked the first time as many as three players were elected since 1991, when Rod Carew, Ferguson Jenkins and Gaylord Perry were enshrined. Ryan and Brett each were named on more than 98 percent of the record 497 votes cast by the veteran members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Ryan's 491 votes represented a 98.79 percentage, second only to the 98.84 percent for Tom Seaver in 1992. Brett's 488 votes constituted a 98.19 percentage, fourth all-time behind Cobb's 98.23. Ryan and Brett each surpassed the previous record vote total of 444 (of 460) by Mike Schmidt in 1995. "I think it's a an honor to be thought of on that level," Ryan said of placing just below Seaver, his one-time teammate with the New York Mets. | |
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